New Delhi:
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's comment “we have Proto Australoids… Mongoloid… Negrito (in India)” – referring to now outdated racial and anthropological groupings of humanity – sparked a new row on Thursday, a day after Sam Pitroda's “North Indians look like white (people)…South Indians look like Africans.”
“We have Proto Australoids, Mongoloids (and) Negrito class humans. Hai to hai (It is how it is) … in the demography of our country, regional characteristics are different. What anyone said (obliquely referring to Mr Pitroda's comment) is his opinion…' Mr Chowdhury said. “But it's true that some people are white… and some are dark.”
Mr Chowdhury's statement – seen as an attempt to defend Mr Pitroda after his racist remarks – has been rejected by the BJP, with Shehzad Poonawalla also raising the row over the Bengal Congress boss' comments on President Droupadi Murmu in July 2022.
READ | Written apology from Congress leader to President for 'Rashtrapatni' remark
'It shows that the words came from Sam Pitroda and the Like this (way of thinking) belongs to Congress. Calling Indians 'Negrito'… Is this a justification for Uncle Sam's comments (a joke against US-based Mr Pitroda)? Is this why they didn't fire him? Will they fire Adhir… who said 'rashtrapatni' to Droupadi Murmuji in the past?” Mr Poonawala raged.
Adhir Ranjan crosses boundaries
When defending Sam Pitroda he calls out Indians (negro or negrito/negrita)
Safe, Kala!Both words are offensive https://t.co/YSzE7DaJAX
It shows that the words are Sam Pitroda, but Soch is a member of Congress
Calling Indians Chinese/African/… pic.twitter.com/9v0Uf0ChEd
— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) May 9, 2024
The Congress has not yet responded to Mr Chowdhury's comment.
On Wednesday, an excerpt from Mr Pitroda's interview with The Statesman circulated online, in which he described India as a “… diverse country… where people in the East look like Chinese… people in the North may look like , white (people ) and people in the South look like Africans”.
READ | “South Indians look like Africans…”: Sam Pitroda embarrasses Congress again
The Congress distanced itself from the comment – which followed another equally controversial remark by Mr Pitroda on inheritance tax – but not before drawing a furious response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the country “will not tolerate disrespect on the basis of skin color”.
READ | Prime Minister's response to Sam Pitroda's racist flu and BJP leaders' 'Look Indian' posts
Repetition of his “shehzade (prince)” barb for Mr. Gandhi, he said, “Shehzade, you will have to answer. The country will not tolerate the disrespect of our countrymen on the basis of skin color…”
READ | Sam Pitroda resigns after Congress gets into new mess over racist comments
Hours after the comment, Pitroda resigned as head of Congress's overseas unit. Party communications boss Jairam Ramesh said the resignation was “of his own accord”.
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